Governing for Health
Advancing Health and Equity through Policy and Advocacy

Some aspects of public health vary by locality or jurisdiction. Political challenges are not one of them. As governments on every scale become motivated by short-term economic gains, the essential causes of public health and equity are regularly subject to political questioning and financial shortcutting. Governing for Health is a counterpoint to this myopic approach -- a passionate, rigorous case for why the health of a society is both its greatest measure and its most untapped source of prosperity. Drawing on evidence from economic policy, urban planning, education, environmental policy, and civil action, Fran Baum offers more than a pie-in-sky vision of an equitable society. Governing for Health is an actionable (and inspiring) roadmap to a society that draws prosperity from advancing the health of its people. It utilizes methods of progress-measuring, city planning, and progressive policy focal points to advance goals that are unreachable in traditional, economics-driven government practice. Whether for students in health equity, more seasoned public health professionals, or citizens interested in their community's and their own health this book offers a trenchant, richly rewarding and accessible look at the field's ultimate end game -- and with it, hope that it's closer than we think.

Fran Baum, PhD, is the Matthew Flinders Distinguished Professor of Public Health and Director of the Southgate Institute of Health, Society, and Equity at Flinders University. Professor Baum is a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia, the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences, and the Australian Health Promotion Association. She is a past National President and Life Member of the Public Health Association of Australia and a member and past Chair of the Global Steering Council of the People's Health Movement. She also served as a Commissioner on the World Health Organization's Commission on the Social Determinants of Health and has received several national competitive grants investigating aspects of health inequity. She has extensive experience teaching public health.